Nigeria News
Now That The Rain Is Here
By Ayo Afuwape
Several forecasts had been made by different authorities about the intensity of rain that would be experienced in various states across the country and the likely hazards that the rains may cause if necessary measures are not put in place to curtail its devastating effect as was the case last year. The Director-General of NIMET, Anthony Anuforom, had predicted that, based on prevalent conditions, what happened last year might just be a child’s play compared to what lies ahead. But this can very well be mitigated if the right steps are taken to avoid being caught unawares. Also, the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, warned residents of the state to prepare for at least 236 days of heavy rainfall this year. This is not to say that rain will not be heavy in other states. It behoves on farmers and citizens at large to plan their lives based on the available information. While much emphasis had been on the need for governments at all levels to ensure an all year drainage clearing programme and de-silting of existing canals to tackle this perennial surge, little or no mention has been made about the expected behaviour on the part of the citizens that are capable of thwarting the efforts of government.
Partly, last year’s floods were caused by people who live in unauthorised areas thereby exposing themselves to severe danger. Those living in shanties with no structured plans for their various houses, no anticipated drainage channels and several other environmental nuisances cause these disasters. The unhealthy lifestyle of these category of people do not only pose a threat to their own lives but to others living within their suburbs. This in effect wrongly portrays the government as not being vigilant or proactive enough.
While the Lagos State Government is making a giant stride in this regard, an array of criticisms is following its action with an opposition party claiming that the government’s action had a political undertone. Amidst this, Lagos State Government has maintained that it is the duty of the government to provide security of life and property for its citizens; the slum dwellers inclusive.
One of the most recent flood control measures by the Lagos State Government is the provision of maps showing the topography of lands in the state to all the chairmen of the 57 local governments and local council development areas in the state. This, the state government said, would enable the council authorities to have an idea of likely areas that could be flooded and prepare an emergency action plan. This is highly commendable.
It should also be noted that the effect of climate change, torrential rainfalls, resulting in floods, may, henceforth be a regular occurrence. Many parts of the world have experienced flooding and a rising level of water in oceans and rivers. The climate change has led to rising temperatures or global warming, resulting in the melting of the Polar Regions, Nigeria not being an exception.
Going by the foregoing phenomenon, Nigerians must change their poor habit of erecting structures without due concern about the safety of their environment (.i.e. compliance with building regulations), desist from the habit of turning drainage into dumps and building houses in places where they end up disrupting the natural course of water, (.i.e. proper waste disposal), embrace alternative energy use and pay necessary attention to sanitation issues.
Besides, the presence of manholes on roads which are meant to provide access to underground pipes and wires, when left uncovered, could pose a serious danger to pedestrians when roads are flooded during the rainy season. People have been known to drown after falling into those holes. It is therefore important to have them covered, especially for the safety of people this season.
The unprecedented flooding of last year, following an unusually high volume of rainfall, took many by surprise, not because there were no forecasts about what was to come, but essentially because the forecasts were not heeded. A repeat of this experience could be avoided if government on its part plays its role and Nigerians on the other hand complement government’s efforts.
Most importantly, all stakeholders must ensure that all humanly-induced activities that aid flooding are stopped because any effort from the government would be futile if the desired behavioural change is not imbibed by its citizenry. This is a clarion call to all and sundry.
•Afuwape wrote from Badagry, Lagos. e-mail: [email protected]
——————————————————————————————————————————————-
Posted in Nigeria News. A DisNaija.Com network.
Source: PM News
DisNaija.Com publishes regular posts on Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Online Nigeria Gist.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Your Opinion Counts. Be sure To Leave A Comment, If You Have Any.
Please Like, Share or Tweet. Your Support Is Appreciated.
The Kano State Government on Saturday said it has transferred 1,098 ‘almajiris’ to different states of the country.
The commissioner for local government, Murtala Garo, disclosed this while presenting a report before the state’s task force on COVID-19 at the government house, Kano.
Almajiris are children who are supposed to be learning Islamic studies while living with their Islamic teachers. Majority of them, however, end up begging on the streets of Northern Nigeria. They constitute a large number of Nigeria’s over 10 million out-of-school children.
Mr Garo said the Kano government transported 419 almajiris to Katsina, 524 to Jigawa and 155 to Kaduna. He said all of them tested negative for coronavirus before leaving the Kano State.
Despite the coronavirus test done in Kano for the almajiris, the Jigawa government earlier said it would quarantine for two weeks all the almajiris that recently arrived from Kano.
Mr Garo said another 100 almajiris scheduled to be taken to Bauchi State also tested negative to COVID-19.
In a remark, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje said the COVID-19 situation in Kano was getting worse. He appealed for a collaborative effort to curtail the spread of the virus in the state.
Mr Ganduje, who commended residents for complying with the lockdown imposed in the state, said the decision was taken to halt the spread of the virus.
Kano State, as of Saturday night, has 77 coronavirus cases, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
The decision to transfer the Kano almajiris is part of the agreement reached between Northern governors that almajiris in each state be transferred to their states of origin.
However, even before the latest agreement by the governors, the Kano government had been transferring almajiris to other states and neighbouring countries after it banned street begging in the state, most populous in Northern Nigeria.
Despite the transfers, however, no concrete step has been taken to ensure such children do not return to Kano streets as there is freedom of movement across Nigeria although interstate travel was recently banned to check the spread of the coronavirus.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
By Ugochukwu Alaribe
Operatives of the Abia State Vigilante Service, AVS, popularly known as ‘Bakassi Boys’ have arrested 24 market women hidden in a container truck, at Ekwereazu Ngwa, the boundary community between Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The market women, said to be from Akwa Ibom State, were on their way to Aba, when they were arrested with the truck driver and two of his conductors for violating the lockdown order by the state government.
Driver of the truck, Moses Asuquo, claimed he was going to Aba to purchase stock fish, but decided to assist the market women, because they were stranded.
A vigilante source told Sunday Vanguard that the vehicle was impounded while the market women were sent back to Akwa Ibom State.
Commissioner for Home Land Security, Prince Dan Okoli, who confirmed the incident, said that smuggling of people into the state poses great threat to the state government’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID- 19.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
Operatives of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Yaba of the Lagos State police command have arrested one Mrs Nene Steve for allegedly killing her maid, Joy Adole
The maid was allegedly beaten to death by Nene for requesting for her salary at their residence located at 18, Ogundola Street, Bariga area in Lagos.
Narrating the incident, Philips Ejeh, an elder brother to the deceased said that he was sad when they informed him that his sister was beaten to death.
He explained that the deceased was an indigene of Benue State brought to Lagos through an agent and started working with her as a maid in January 2020.
‘’She reported that her boss refused to pay her and anytime she asked for her salary she will start beating her.
She was making an attempt to leave the place but due to the total lockdown she remained there until Sunday when her boss said she caught her stealing noodles and this led to her serious beating and death,’’ Ejeh said.
He called on Lagos State Government and well- meaning people in the country to help them in getting justice for the victim.
The police spokesman, Bala Elkana, stated that the woman and her husband came to Bariga Police Station to a report that their house girl had committed suicide.
Detectives were said to have visited the house and suspected foul play with the position of the rope and bruises all over the body which confirmed that the girl had been tortured to death and the boss decided to hang up the girl to make it look like suicide.
He said: “The police moved on with their investigation and found a lot of sign of violence on her body that she has been tortured before a rope was put on her neck.’’
He added that the police removed the corpse and deposited it in the mortuary for autopsy to further ascertain the cause of the death.
Elkana said the matter has been transferred from Bariga police station to Panti for further investigation while the couple have been arrested and will be charged to court.
Ostensibly alarmed by the latest killings of dozens of soldiers by Boko Haram insurgents, President Muhammadu Buhari has summoned an urgent meeting of Service Chiefs to find ways to stop the trend.
He has also dispatched the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali, to the neighbouring Republic of Chad for an urgent meeting with President Idris Deby and his defence counterpart.
Knowledgeable sources said in Abuja on Friday that the president is worried by on the deterioration of security situation on the Nigeria – Chad Border that has led to the recently increased Boko Haram terrorism in the area.
The sources which did not want to be named in Abuja said: “Nigeria has a Chad problem in the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) put together to secure the Lake Chad basin areas and repeal the Boko Haram terrorist attacks against all the countries neighbouring the Lake.”
The sources noted that Chad is believed to be having their own internal security challenges and this has reportedly led to their pulling away their own troops manning their own border around Lake Chad, saying: “That lacuna is being exploited by the Boko Haram terrorists, who go in and out of Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon to launch terrorist acts. This is a clear illustration of the fact that terrorism is beyond national borders.”
When contacted, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed that the Defence Minister is going to Chad but said he is unaware of the purpose.
Meanwhile, the military authorities are said to be in the process of identifying the families of the latest victims with a view to making contact with them.
Credible sources revealed that it is the reason the president is yet to make any pronouncement on the matter.
“The President has called an urgent meeting with the Service Chiefs, as well as the fact that families of the latest victims of the Boko Haram are being identified and contacts made before a government pronouncement on the tragic attacks. This, it is understood, is the reason for the silence of the government over the incident,” the source said.
Sourced From: Tribune
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
Buhari Will Win In 2019: US Institute
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) has predicted that President Muhammadu Buhari will win the 2019 election. The organisation...
Why Buhari Deserves Second Term – Lai Mohammed
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has said that President Muhammadu Buhari deserved second term election because,...
Atiku Presidential Campaign Council: PDP Releases List of Members
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday released the list of party members to handle the campaign team of the...
Obasanjo Forgives Atiku, Endorses Him For President
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday said he has reviewed his stance on not backing his former deputy for the...
Buhari, Atiku In Battle Of Integrity Over 2019 Poll
THE brickbats continued yesterday between President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. The All Progressives Congress (APC) and...